Inside Out East - 18/10/2010

Investigating whether cash-strapped councils across the East who own personalised number plates should follow the example of Essex County Council who sold their 'F1' plate for nearly half a million pounds. Chris Packham meets David Cobham, the man who inspired him to become a conservationist. And Colleen meets Dale Pinnock from Cambridgeshire, who cooks food that he says not only tastes good but he says can also heal. She talks to scientists at the Norwich-based Institute of Food research who say that there is something to be said for the idea of medicinal food. Cash-strapped councils across the East own personalised number plates worth millions. We reveal who owns what and ask if they should follow the example of Essex County Council who sold their F1 plate for a million pounds. Chris Packham meets the man who inspired him to become a conservationist. David Cobham now runs a wildlife reserve near Fakenham but back in the 70s he was one of the first to challenge the destruction of the countryside with his film Vanishing Hedgerows. He went on to make many classics with David Attenborough and the world famous Tarka the Otter. Dale Pinnock from Cambridgeshire cooks food that he says not only tastes good but he says can also heal. Colleen Harris tries out his anti-flu soup and talks to scientists at the Norwich-based Institute of Food research who say that there is something to be said for the idea of medicinal food.